


Run Aways

by orphan_account



Series: Brighter Than Any Star - Otherwise known as, Reylo fics that I need to get out of my head [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Don't read if you don't like SPOILERS, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, I know the end of the second chapter makes me seem like I ship RosexFinn but I don't, One-Shot, One-Shot Series, PoexFinn for life, Romance, Spoilers, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers, except this is a canon fic so I'm doing the canon relationships, how about they run away, kind of short, well it's sort of a canon fic, what I hope happens but I know it won't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 03:26:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13091448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: She never thought this would happen. Not in a million years. But here he is, begging her to run away with him, and she doesn't even have to ask herself what to choose.





	1. Tired

Rey isn't sure how long he had been standing there, staring out the window of her room on the rebel base, but he is there when she walks in after working on the Falcon with Chewie. She isn't sure if he is really there, of course. She can't tell if it is him or if it is the force bond, which has been getting stronger and stronger ever since they last saw each other in the flesh. The day Luke Skywalker died.

"What are you doing here?" She grits out past clenched teeth, trying her hardest not to run him through with the lightsaber she ignited as soon as she laid eyes on him.

He doesn't turn towards her. He doesn't even acknowledge her presence as he continues to stare out the window. Her window.

"Kylo," She swears she sees his shoulders tighten when she says that, "what are you doing here?"

He finally acknowledges her, turning his head away from the window just enough so she can see something sad flicker in his dark eyes. "I'm not here to fight, if that's what you're thinking." He inclines his head towards her lit lightsaber. "You can put that away."

"Can I?" She asks, unsure as to why he thinks that she would actually speak to her enemy without a weapon. Not that she wants him to be her enemy, he chose this.

"You can." He assures her. He fully turns towards her, the window now completely forgotten. "I don't want to fight you." He says quietly, his dark eyes pleading for her to understand.

"I didn't want to fight you either, but you made your choice." She mutters as she looks down at the floor beneath her feet, anywhere but him. Anywhere but his face and the scar she had given him and the pleading eyes that were begging her for . . . something.

"I did, and I regret it." Her head snaps up, not sure if she's hearing what she thinks she's hearing. He regrets it? He regrets choosing the First Order over her? He regrets choosing the dark side over the light?

He holds out a gloved hand towards her and hers raises to meet it, hoping that he's offering to come back from the dark side, to her, then he says, "Come with me."

And something inside her shatters. Her hand drops back to her side immediately. Of course. Of course he's not offering to give up evil for her. No, it's just the same proposal as the one from a year ago. The one from a month ago.

She shakes her head and replies, "No," His hand starts shaking as she continues, "I'm not going to become part of the First Order. I'm not joining the dark side, _Supreme Leader Kylo Ren_." She spits the title and his name out with as much hatred as she can muster, anything to show him that she will _never_ choose that path.

 "That's not what I'm asking." He says quietly.

Rey takes a step back, because if that's not what he's asking then what is he asking. He's staring at her, pleading with her. He's not sure how to say whatever it is he came here to say, but in the end he says, "I'm not asking for you to join the dark side or the First Order. I'm asking you to join _me_."

"Aren't they the same thing?"

He shakes his head. "No, I'm leaving it behind. I want you to come with me. We can go wherever you want, Rey." He quickly pulls the glove off of his outstretched hand and steps forward as the glove drops to the floor and vanishes, no longer apart of this force bond. "We can leave them both behind, the Resistance and the First Order, and just be together."

"Where would we go?" She asks, though his idea of running away is already taking up a huge spot in her head. Yes, leaving with him would be so easy.

"Anywhere." He says excitedly. He smiles widely at her as he says, "We could go anywhere, Rey. We could go _everywhere_."

She can tell he means it.

"Why? Are you sure that you actually want to give up all the fighting? Do you really want to give up all that _power_?"

She has to know. She doesn't want to know.

Kylo - or this man in front of her Ben? - steps forward so his outstretched hand is nearly touching her own arm. "I'm so tired, Rey." His voice is thicker than usual as he continues, "I'm so tired of fighting, you and the light. I'm tired of the damn politics. I'm tired of trying to fulfill a destiny I'm not even sure I'm suppose to fulfill. I'm tired of feeling you through this bond, but not in the flesh."

She thinks he's done but then he continues, "And I'm so fucking tired of loving you but not being with you. It's the worst feeling, Rey." He shakes his head as if he's feeling it right now and he's trying to clear it away. "It's like something is clawing at my very being."

And she knows how it feels, because she's felt it too. And . . . he admitted to loving her. He loves her. Does she - Yes. No question.

"There would be no fighting?" She asks quietly.

A spark in his eyes lights up with hope as he says, "None."

"And you wouldn't try to seduce me to dark side."

He frowns as if he wasn't expecting that question, but he stills answers, "Honestly, I don't think I can ever come back to the light side, at least not fully, but I'm not completely part of the dark side either. It's sort of like they're," His brow furrows as he tries to think of the right word for, "balanced within me, I guess. Understanding that helps me understand that you aren't meant to be a part of the dark side and I know that's not what you want so I won't push you towards it."

He steps even closer, their chest are nearly pressed against each other and he's still somehow managing to hold out his hand for her to take.

Her taking that hand means that she's chosen, and that her choice is him.

"Please, Rey." He begs in a whisper so low that she can barely hear it.

She closes her eyes, thinking this over. Can she do this? Can she leave the Resistance behind? Can she leave her friends behind? Can she leave Finn behind? He was her first real friend. He's still her best friend. He came back for her. No one had ever come back for her, unless you count Kylo who continuously annoyed her in the months following the death of Luke Skywalker.

But this isn't about her friends or the Resistance. This is about Ben. She knows that she saw him on the light side, on her side, when they first touched hands. She _knows_. She can help him change. And in the process they can be happy, they can be together. She won't have to be alone anymore. That little piece in her that's felt so cracked and alone can heal.

"I have two conditions." Rey finds herself saying as she reopens her eyes.

Ben - yes, this is definitely Ben Solo and not Kylo Ren - doesn't skip a beat before saying, "Anything."

"I can leave a note." She needs to let them know that she's not hurt, though they might not care once they realize that she's abandoning them.

"I wasn't expecting you to leave without leaving one." He says, as if that thought had already occurred to him a million times.

"And," She pauses for suspense before saying, "We never, ever, in a million years travel to Jakku."

Kylo has to stifle as chuckle as he says, "I wouldn't dream of taking you back to that place."

She slides her hand into his larger one and says, "Then when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow, we'll meet tomorrow."

She nods, "Where?"

He tells her some coordinates he has picked out and she tries her hardest to remember them.

"We'll go anywhere?" She asks.

He leans forward, resting his forehead against her, "We'll go everywhere."

She sighs before doing something she'd never expected to do before. She kisses him. It's just a sweet peck on the lips, but as soon as she pulls away she sees his whole face split into a smile that's brighter than any star, and warmer than any sun could be.

That's when she hears knocking on her door and a familiar male voice yelling, "Rey, it's time for dinner."

Finn.

Ben inclines his head to the door, "You should go, enjoy a good meal with your friends before tomorrow."

She nods, placing a small peck on his cheek, before walking over to the door.

He starts to fade away, the force bond simmering down for right now.

"Oh, Kylo," She says quietly, "I love you too."

She barely hears him as he says, "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for anyone who read this before I edited it, it's probably a little confusing. Because FOR SOME REASON half of the chapter was completely erased and I didn't notice when I posted it, so I'm fixed it. Those of you who are reading it after my little editing session, no worries for you. Hakuna matata.


	2. The Note

"Have you seen Rey today?" Finn asks Poe as he sits down at their usual table in the mess hall, ready for lunch after a long morning.

Poe shakes his head, unconcerned. "No, but she's probably just lost track of time working with Chewie on the Falcon." He forks a piece of meat and swallows without chewing. "You know how she is about that ship."

"True." Finn agrees, thinking about the many times she skipped breakfast while spending time on her favorite ship.

He lets the subject drop for a little while as he enjoys his meal, but he can't help but let his mind wander. Every once in a while Rey gets sad, or she just stares off into space. Sometimes it's like she sees something that nobody else sees, like she sees _someone_. He wonders if these moments of quiet sadness have anything to do with Ren and the very short, but still very important, time she spent with him when they killed Snoke. She doesn't talk much about that. She doesn't even talk about what led her to try to turn Ren, she only says that she made a mistake.

"Sometimes I think she's not okay." Finn says quietly, almost hoping that Poe won't hear him.

Poe raises a brow and leans forward, whispering as well as he says, "What do you mean?"

"I think something happened on that ship with Ren, that something is still happening." He doesn't want to say what he thinks. He doesn't want to even voice the possibility.

But Finn doesn't need to say any more, Poe catches his meaning quickly. "You think Rey and Ren had a moment?"

Finn shrugs, "Possibly." He feels stupid even suggesting it. Rey, a bringer of light if there ever was one, and Kylo Ren, darkness and death incarnate. They don't make sense at all, but sometimes making sense doesn't matter.

"Have you ever noticed how she just drifts off mid-sentence? When she just stops talking and looks at a blank space like she's seeing a ghost. She always looks like someone's tearing her heart out when it happens too."

Poe doesn't get the connection this time. "So?"

Finn leans forward and whispers, "I think it has something to do with Ren. I have no idea how, but it's my theory."

Poe shrugs, "Maybe, we'll see. We can ask her at dinner."

"If she comes." Finn grumbles.

\-----

"Rey, you ready for dinner?" Finn calls out as he knocks on the door to her room.

She barely answered yesterday, and she looked really frazzled when she did. She came out of the room with a rosy red blush on her cheeks and wide eyes that darted around the empty halls. She barely spoke at dinner last night, but she listened and laughed. Everybody could tell her mind was somewhere else.

She doesn't answer.

"Rey?" He calls out again.

No answer.

He twists her doorknob and the door opens. He expects to find her sitting on the floor, tinkering with some new project and completely lost to her mechanics, but he finds nothing. Her bed is made, which is completely unusual considering she doesn't see the point in making her bed whens she's just going to get back into it.

His eyes dart around the room, looking for any sign that she's even been here today. The lights are off. There aren't any spare parts laying on every available surface. How weird. He looks over at her dirty clothes basket to find nothing. He casts his gaze to her desk, where she normally keeps important stuff like her lightsaber, and he sees it. A piece of paper fold neatly.

Finn rushes over to it and opens it quietly. What he finds breaks his heart.

_Dear everybody,_

_I don't really know how to tell you this, especially Finn. You've all been so kind to me, the friends I never had. I didn't think I'd choose to leave you, ever, but I have to. I choose to. I don't expect any of you to understand it, maybe General Organa, but none of the rest of you. Ben and I are leaving together. The First Order and the Resistance. We're both tired of fighting, each other and just in general. I know you all want me to be the next hero Jedi, but I think this is the best path for everybody. You guys will have a few weeks, maybe even months, before the First Order figures out their next leader and everything. They'll be vulnerable. Attack while you can. I'm sorry that I'm leaving you, especially my newfound friends, and I hope you forgive me. Please don't come looking for us._

_Love,_

_Rey_

Finn doesn't even have to question if it's Rey's handwriting, he'd know her scribbly script anywhere. He knew something was wrong with her, but he didn't know that something was so wrong that she'd want to run away with Ben - Kylo Ren. She didn't want to fight, they could've kept her back. He could have left with her, instead of her leaving with him.

He doesn't notice when Poe walks in. As soon as Poe sees the paper, he knows that Rey is gone. "She with Ren?" Poe asks as he sits on Rey's bed next to Finn.

Finn nods and passes him the note.

Poe reads it quickly before handing it back. "You're not happy?"

"She's leaving the Resistance with a monster. She's leaving because she's tired of fighting, but she didn't have to leave with him. I could have left with her, I would have - " He can't say anymore as his throat clogs. He might have met Poe first, but Rey was his first friend. She made him want to fight the First Order. He loves her like a little sister, and he knows that she does not deserve a monster like Ren.

Poe sighs, "She left because she chose to. If she didn't want to leave with Ren, she wouldn't have." Finn doesn't see where he's going with this until Poe says, "She must see something in him, something _good_. She must care about him. Rey is strong girl, she's beat him once before. If she decides that this was a bad idea at some point, then can leave anytime she wants and you know that."

"But she's with _him_." Finn snarls.

"If she's happy, then who are we to judge." Poe says, shrugging. He knows that the general will be happy to hear about her son not being a part of the First Order anymore. He can't wait to tell her, she's been so sad after losing her brother and Han that hearing this news is bound to put a little bit of a spring in her step.

Finn is silent for a while before he squints at Poe and says, "You're being uncharacteristically wise tonight."

Poe shrugs, "I'm super wise, you just never notice because you're too busy checking out Rose."

Finn sputters as Poe stands and walks out of the room, preparing to tell the general the good news.


	3. In the Flesh

Rey tries to be quiet as she sneaks through the Resistance base, trying to get to the hanger where are the small ships are kept. It's early, before dawn. She knows this will be her only chance to get herself and a ship out of here without having to answer a billion questions about where she's going. She already left her note, but if she's sees her friends asking her where she's going . . . she might not be able to stop herself from telling them goodbye herself. Nothing would keep her from leaving, not after talking to Ben again last night, but she could easily alert them to her plan without meaning to and then ruin everything.

She quietly steps into the hanger and heads to one of the smallest ships. It will be easy to dispose of once she gets to the coordinates that Ben had given her. It takes her barely a minute to figure out exactly where everything is; After spending a year surrounded by actually working ships she's learned quite a lot more than she knew from her time as a scavenger and now she can fly practically anything, of course it helps that the force . . . helps her a bit.

She soon finds herself flying into hyperspace. She's surprised that she didn't set off any alarms, she was hoping she wouldn't. They'll know she's gone by the end of the day, especially after she doesn't come down for dinner. They'll be so mad at her. They'll be mad at her for abandoning them. They'll be mad at her for stealing from them. And they'll definitely be mad at her for leaving them for a monster, or who they assume to be a monster.

Rey knows that him killing Snoke and running away from the First Order with her doesn't excuse the things he's done in the past, the people he's killed, but the past doesn't matter to her. He was too engrossed in the dark side, too scared of Snoke. He's going to be better now. She can forget the past, as long as the future is better, more peaceful.

\-----

Rey lands her stolen ship on the grassy plains beneath it. The coordinates that Ben gave her are to the Lake Country of Naboo. They lead to the perfect place to land a small ship, and a much bigger ship. It's so green, she has to blink the awe out of her eyes as she looks out over the country in front of her. It's so beautiful. She can see a lake a while away, she's never actually been to a lake before. She can't even swim, but something about that lake makes her want to put visiting a lake on her and Ben's list of things to do.

Ben's not here yet, but she feel the bond changing as he approaches. Where it had once been taut and cold because of their distance, it was now becoming loose and warm.

Her jaw almost drops when she sees a sleek, black light freighter landing almost directly across from hers. It isn't the type of ship she would have chosen for being incognito, but she has to admit that it is beautiful and large enough for whatever purpose they decide to use it for. Traveling the galaxy or settling on an abandoned moon, it could work for either. Even if they decided to start a smuggling operation, which she knows Ben would never go for, they would have the perfect ship.

She inhales deeply to steady herself as she sees a ramp lowering from the freighter. This is it. He's here. She's here. They're really doing this.

Rey sees his boots before she sees him, watching as they thud down the ramp and reveal more and more of him until he's fully exposed. He stands under the warm Naboo sun and gazes at her ship, staring right at her. He's wearing black, like usual, but this time it seems softer on him. His normal outfit of black robes usually makes him look like wraiths of death are swirling around him as he walks, but he's just wearing a black tunic and pants right now and it looks like just a casual outfit.

She doesn't even see his lightsaber swinging from his belt.

After what seems like an eternity to her, he smiles softly and waves for her to come out, breaking her out of her awe. She can't believe this is really happening. Her and Ben. They're going to leave. Together.

She quickly grabs the two bags containing her clothes and tools - along with a few parts that she couldn't bear to just leave behind - and runs off the ship. She slows down to a very fast walk as her feet hit the grass, not wanting to look too eager even if her heart is racing against her chest with excitement. This isn't even fair. He looks so contained and she can barely keep her blush from spreading across her face.

Rey stops right in front of him, not sure what to do now that they're standing in front of each other. In the flesh. Should she reach out and take his hand? Should she hug him? Should she kiss him? She doesn't know what to do. She's just standing there, awkwardly studying his face, as he watches her in return. His dark eyes seem darker if that's even possible.

She opens her mouth, though she has no idea what she's planning on saying, but he cuts her off - thank Kriff - by kissing her. It's not the same sweet kiss that she placed on his lips last night, it's deeper, rougher, but still full of that sweet emotion that's encouraging them to leave everything they know behind. His lips on hers, they make every single worry fall away as so many different emotions flood through her and she can't keep herself from bringing her hands up, encircling his neck and twining her fingers in his thick hair.

His fingers dig into her waist a little harder when she's does that, but not in a way that's hurtful. No, it actually feels really good. Good enough to coax a gasp out of her lips. He smiles against her lips, knowing exactly what he's doing and happy that it makes her happy - makes her feel good.

Ben pulls away first, needing to catch a breath of air but also wanting to say something rather than just kiss her senseless. Though kissing her senseless does sound like a good idea for later.

He doesn't say anything though.

They return to staring at each other, at each other's now pink cheeks and their tousled hair. They're now swollen lips don't escape glances other.

It's almost too much for Rey, to just stand here and not say anything when she's bursting to speak. She tell him how happy she is, how happy he's making her. She wants to tell him where she wants to go first. She wants to tell him that the Lake Country is beautiful because she knows he picked it out especially for her. But all that comes out of her mouth is, "Hi."

She really wishes she could just punch herself. After a kiss like that, the only thing that she can think to say is 'Hi'.

He bites his lip before nodding, "Hi."

"How was your trip? Did you get away undetected?" She doesn't know how he managed it. He's the Supreme Leader, shouldn't they be looking for him already.

He seems to read between the lines of her question as he answers, "I've been planning this for weeks, months really. I 'set up' a meeting here two weeks ago so nobody would find anything unusual about me being here alone. It was fairly easy actually, you'd think someone would offer to come down with their Supreme Leader to guard him." He shrugs as if he couldn't care less about how much his crew seems to dislike him.

"And yours?" He asks suddenly.

"Surprisingly quiet, it's almost as if they let me get away, but nobody knew about this so that's not possible." I frown, knowing that I've already pondered this. I just still not sure how I managed to get away without raising any alarms. Where were the guards?

Ben doesn't look as reassured as she hoped he would be. "Even so, we should probably go. The sooner, the better"

She nods. She grabs his hand without him having to offer it; she notes his surprise and twines their fingers together as they walk up the ramp to the light freighter.

\-----

"Ben?" Rey whispers as she curls up in her copilot's seat.

"Mmm?" He hums questioningly, not taking his tired eyes off the controls in front of him.

"I forgot to say 'thank you' earlier, so thank you." Rey mumbles as she yawns.

His dark eyes drift over to hers, dripping with curiosity. "What are you thanking me for?"

She shrugs and curls up tighter in her seat, trying to conserve warmth. Why is it so cold on this ship? "Because Naboo was beautiful and because you actually came."

"I told you I would come." He whispers and runs a soothing finger down her cheek, making her shiver.

"Yeah, but you actually came. You didn't leave me alone."

He grabs her hand and brings it up to his mouth, leaving a warm kiss on the back of it. "You're not alone." He says, reminding her of a night that seems like so long ago even though it was only a year ago. It seems like her whole life changed only a year ago.

She smiles at him and brings their hands closer, leaving her own kiss on his hand as she says, "Neither are you."

He exhales sharply, still not used to hearing that. "I missed you." He says honestly. "I know that we used the bond, but it wasn't the same as being in the same room as you."

"I know." 

They used the bond a lot. At first, it was just him. He would show up at random times, during important meetings, meal times, and even when she was in the 'fresher - that was so awkward. He begged her to join him, again and again. Each time, she refused. He eventually stopped asking and instead started asking after her well being. He would confess his loneliness to her and she would confess hers, because even if she was surrounded by friends there was always that small part of her that felt alone. They would tell each other things that they had never told anyone because it was just easier to speak to someone that you couldn't get away from, someone who could even read your emotions.

Until that day, over a month ago, when Kylo had asked her to join him again. She remembers every single detail.

_"Rey." Kylo's voice surprises her as she walks into her room, dropping her tool belt on the nearest chair._

_"Kylo," She says as she tries to calm her pounding heart, "you scared me."_

_He doesn't say anything. He just continues to stare out the window, a normal occurrence. She thinks that he's just staring out the window on his ship, wherever it is._

_"Are you okay?" She asks as she walks up next to him, close to laying a comforting hand on his clearly tense shoulder._

_He turns around in a blur and looks down at her, staring deeply into her eyes as if searching for something._

_She raises a brow as he continues to stare, "Kylo, are you okay?"_

_He immediately shakes his head. "No."_

_Her heart immediately starts beating faster as she looks him over, searching for any injuries. "Are you hurt?" She doesn't see any blood, though that's kind of hard to do when all he wears is black. "What's wrong?"_

_He holds out his gloved hand for her and she immediately takes it. They hold hands quite a lot when the other wants to talk about something painful._

_But this time is different. This isn't something painful to talk about, but it always leads to pain on both ends of the bond._

_"Join me." Kylo says, seeming barely able to choke out those two words._

_Her hand immediately drops away from his as she gasps,"What?"_

_"Join me, Rey." His dark eyes look down at her, but they aren't pleading at her. Not the way they used to when he asked her this._

_"Kylo," She shakes her head, taking a few steps back, "you know I can't. The First Order, the dark side, they aren't for me. The things that organization does, what the dark side makes you do - I can't."_

_She can barely contain the tears that are threatening to spill as she says, "And I really wish you couldn't too."_

_He takes a step forward, mouth open, already prepared to say something else, but she cuts him off, "Go away."_

_He stops, "Rey," he breathes as if his lungs won't support him saying anything above a whisper._

_"Just go, Kylo." She pleads._

_Kylo's face tells her that he wants to argue, wants to stay, but he leaves anyways, leaving her alone._

"Ben," Rey finds herself saying as she casts a glance at him, thinking over how strange that exchange was.

Ben looks over at her questioningly, raising a single brow. "Yeah?"

"A month ago, that last visit," She pauses and waits for him to nod so she knows that he understands which visit she's talking about. He nods. "You asked me to join you, yet you told me that you've been thinking of running away with me for months."

Ben sighs, turning his head. "When I asked you that, I think it was more about me trying to convince myself that this is the right thing to do. That there would be no other way for us to be together."

She makes a soft clucking noise with her tongue before saying, "You were very confident in thinking that I would run away with you."

Ben smirks. "I knew you would."

"Did you now?"

He smiles widely and leans forward, she thinks he's about to kiss her when he turns away at the last second and says, "I'm irresistible."

She shakes her head at his antics. "You got the resistible part right."

**Author's Note:**

> So ever since watching The Last Jedi - so good by the way - I've had these little thoughts fluttering around in my mind and I need to get them out and the only way to get them out is to write them. So here's what I hope will happen in the next movie, but I know it won't happen.


End file.
